Archive for May 2011

So from my last few blogs, or my facebook photo albums if you can see those too, you might get the impression that I’m on vacation here in Costa Rica – I talk mostly about trips to the beach, volcanic hiking, soccer games, and more trips to the beach. But believe it or not, I am still doing schoolwork as well. As a matter of fact, like my fellow Oles, I am approaching the end of my semester, which means finals. For me, it’s crunch time. I don’t have finals in the same form as most semesters back at Olaf, but I am experiencing the same feeling that usually comes at the end of the semester: so much to do with so little time left. So what better time to tell you a little bit about the conclusions I’m finding from the project that I’ve dedicated my four months to…

There are organic products out there that work as herbicides! Whoo! I was successful at killing weeds on the farm, which is good news for the farm. In fact, by now they’ve sprayed almost the entire farm with one of the products that I was testing, and I found that this practice has the potential to help them have over 60% savings in their weed control practices! It has been really exciting to realize what my work has the potential to do – there really isn’t a lot of research out there on organic herbicides (as I found out with my struggles during the background research process), and even better, Hugo is going to work with the man who created one of the products to try and set up a more standardized business and production process and eventually marketing this product. There is still a lot of work to be done, but my project has been one of the first steps towards achieving these possibilities. Here are some pictures of what my products can do:

The clear border of my plots appearing after 2 weeks due to plant mortality

9

A comparison of normal plants to...

..plants treated with my products

A lot of the excitement about my project surfaced when my advisor (and owner of Finmac), Hugo, came to meet with me to discuss my results. The meeting actually resulted in a surprise trip the following day back to the farm, for an extra follow-up day of collecting data – so that I could have data from 2 months after the herbicide applications. It was really great to get to go back to the farm and see my friends and family that I wasn’t sure if I was going to see again – it was quite a surprise for everyone. I was reminded once again of the oppressive heat and humidity, got a giant plate of fresh fruit for lunch from Doña Lucia, got to ride around on a motorcycle again, and talk to the farm workers and the ladies from Amazilia again – a perfect little day to fufill all the things that caused nostalgia for my rural home.

However, the trip to the farm also meant a lost day of data analysis, plus extra data to enter and therefore re-do most of the analyses that I had already done. So the following day I was at ACM working late, when I got another surprise Costa-Rican experience – the first earthquake here that I’ve felt (the first that I’ve ever felt in my life!)! I was upstairs in the ACM building with a fellow student when the shaking began, and after a few seconds we both realized what was happening. It was quite strong, and lasted long enough that we decided we needed to take our earthquake evacuation route out of the building to the “safe zone”. At first for me it was quite exciting, but soon I realized some of the staff at ACM were somewhat shaken by how strong it was (pun not intended, but I decided to leave it) – apparently it was the strongest one that they’ve felt in San Pedro for a while. It was all my family & neighbors were talking about when I got home – the phone was ringing every 5 minutes with family calling to discuss where they were when it happened and what it felt like (and check if everyone was okay). Apparently it was a 6.1 on the ricter scale, lasted about 20 seconds, and the epicenter was 45 km southwest of San Jose. There weren’t any deaths reported from the quake, and only minor injuries and damage close to the epicenter. Oh – the other weird thing… it was Friday the 13th…. spooky.

Finally, Saturday we had our “goodbye party” with ACM: all of the students and our families went to a park for a day to spend the day together: playing soccer, swimming in a pool, a large delicious lunch, group dance session with our instructor Roy, piñatas, and just all-around fun with our friends and families. The soccer game is a tradition: the students (los gringos) vs. the family memebers (los ticos) – The ticos supposedly win every year. Well we were darn close: we were ahead nearly the whole game, until we ended up tied 8-8 with only a few minutes left. The ticos managed to score a last-second goal to win the game 9-8, although I’m still convinced that we actually ended in a tie (I thought we were still up one when they scored that goal). The afternoon dance session was also a blast: my host mom was out there showing off her moves and heckling our dance instructor and fellow students – I knew she was fun, but it was the craziest I’d ever seen her!

I keep falling further and further behind in my blog: there are experiences I want to share, but between trying to wade through pages and pages of data and statistics and put together a final research paper and presentation plus trying to experience and enjoy my last weeks in this country, there’s not much “down time” to use to write about it all. Buut, there continue to be wonderful things that I get to do and see, like the following story that I must share with you.

So, a couple weeks ago (wow, I really am behind), our class had a scheduled trip to Punta Leona – an ecologically based private resort community on the Pacific coast – for a day at the beach. Well, we all agreed that a few hours at the beach wasn’t enough for us, and since we didn’t have class scheduled for the next day, we decided to use our director’s connections to arrange staying for the night at the resort’s hotel. It was definitely one of the best decisions we’ve made in Costa Rica – it led to an amazingly beautiful experience.

First, we arrived in Punta Leona mid-morning and spent some time on Playa Blanca – a beach rated as one of the best in Costa Rica. Although it was a cloudy day (we can tell the rainy season is setting in), we were still able to enjoy our time relaxing on the beach and floating in the ocean waves – a great break from working on our projects. Then we went to Carabela’s, one of the resort’s restaurants, where you dine (on delicious comida) practically in the forest. However, this also means that the animals have learned where they can find food for free, so we had some visitors as well, like birds and this brave garobo:

...and the view of Playa Blanca that morning.

But later that evening is when the real magic happened. The afternoon we spent on the beach near our hotel, soaking up some sun that finally appeared, and getting jet-ski rides from some fellow resort guests, until the sun started to set. From what I’ve seen, when the sun sets on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, it doesn’t usually just set – it goes down in style. Well, the show that night in Punta Leona was simply spectacular. Lets see if I can re-enact the story with pictures:

The view from the beach outside of our hotel

Trying to catch dinner, with a beautiful backdropI went to dip my feet and got a bit surprised by a strong wave

The golden light of the sun lighting up the trees of what was soon to be dubbed "Miracle Beach"

Golden

And another part of the miracle appeared: a rainbow over the beach

So beautiful

but don't forget this view (and these colors!)

But wait - It's a DOUBLE RAINBOW!

An evening rainbow

Amazing colors over the Pacific Ocean

Enjoying the view of the sky and ocean on fire

To wrap up the trip, we spent a few hours after dark lounging in the pool until we were chased out by a lightening storm & closing time, has some laughs hanging out together and taking crazy pictures, and the following day we spent the rest of the time on the beach. I went exploring some tide pools in the morning to find all sorts of interesting marine life (interesting for a biology nerd like me), and then we played a game of soccer in the sand until the tide covered our field. Turns out we had to stand nearly the entire 2-hour bus ride back to San Jose, but the memory of that amazing sunset and time spent together was one of the most memorable moments I will take away from this semester.

A view of Playa Blanca the next morning form the rocky tide pools (top), and Last but not least, relaxing in the characteristic Punta Leona Palm

Next chapter of stories to tell: the return to San José. Like I expected, there are some good things, but there are definitely things that I miss about my rural stay, above all the food. Lucky for me, ACM keeps us stocked with chocolate from Finmac, so I can still get my daily fix, but it’s just not quite the same as getting it warm straight from the mixer like I could when I was with the Amazilia women. Same with my fruit and veggies: I still get some fresh foods, but its just not the same as picking it right from the tree outside my house. The other big difference is the pace of life: I had a hard time distinguishing if my time in el campo felt like it went fast or slow, but eventually I realized it was neither – it was just experiencing a certain amount of time for what it really was. Back here in San Jose our days are filled with work and activities and socializing, which means due dates and schedules and a little less time to just be. It also means my mid-days are once again filled with English – one thing that I’m not too happy about when I realize I only have 2-3 weeks left and still so much I want to learn.

Buut, just because I’m nearing the end of my program and am mostly consumed by the thought of finishing my final paper and presentation, it doesn’t mean that I’m not still having great experiences. The first of the two that I’m going to tell you about this post is our class trip that we took to see Volcán Irazú. We left San José in the early morning and I was a little worried/bummed about the weather conditions: it was much cloudier than it had been, and I thought it might take away from our experience of seeing the volcano. I soon realized the simple solution we had for that problem: we just went above the clouds. Although I’m sure the view of the valley below would have been amazing without the clouds, I also really enjoyed looking down upon them – that for me is normally a sight reserved only for rides in airplanes.

Looking down on the clouds

As our bus wound up the side of Irazú we were also rewarded with a spectacular view of another volcano, Volcán Turrialba, along with the column of gases that it emits almost constantly. For me it was especially neat to see Turrialba like we did – that was the volcano that I could see on clear mornings while working in the pastures of Finmac or on the bus ride to Guapiles. Once we reached the park area near the peak of Irazu, we walked with our guide volcanologist Jorge to see the sulfuric lake in the main crater and learn more about volcanology. Next, we hiked up to the highest point of the volcano, during which time I realized that I was at the highest altitude that I’ve ever been! We were at 3432 m, or about 11,260 feet! I definitely could feel the altitude as I was huffing and puffing during our hike up the hill. Our luck eventually ran out – by the time we reached the top, some clouds had arrived to block our view. However, it was another neat experience to be engulfed in a cloud, and it kind of felt like we were on the edge of the world…

Volcán Turrialba smoking, as see from the side of Irazu

Principle crater of Irazú

Looking out over the edge of the world

The next experience I want to share was another cultural experience I had the following weekend: my first “real” (National level) Costa Rican soccer game. Through another ACM student’s host brother, we made a last-minute decision to go to Alejuela to watch the semi-final game between La Liga (Alejuela) and Heredia. The only way to describe the atmosphere surrounding the game (beginning even on the bus ride to Alejuela) is: feverish. It was impossible not to get wrapped up in the intensity and passion that the crowd emitted. It became very apparent the moment we arrived in Alejuela: walking to the stadium you could hear the chants and songs shouted by La Liga fans getting stronger and stronger, along with increased numbers of policia and fuerza publica lining the streets. We were outside of the stadium to see the arrival of both teams, which was quite the show of the band of police on horseback pushing back the throngs of boisterous fans so the buses and players could safely pass.

The fever continued once we were inside the stadium for the game. We had incredibly great “seats” (we were standing the whole time, of course) – right on the center line, and above a tunnel entrance to the stadium, so no one in front of us with their crazy hats and noisemakers to block our view. It was a great game – La Liga scored enough goals to win and to make it into the finals (we needed two, but they scored four – so it was a very exciting game!) and I definitely learned some new vocabulary – the kind we don’t usually get to learn in the classroom. After the win, the Liga passion continued all the way home: walking down the streets of Alejuela starting cheers with random groups of Liga fans, hearing car horns honk the Liga rhythm all the way back to San Jose and even around San Pedro and Curridibat (neighborhoods where we live). My throat/voice probably didn’t really appreciate the night, but I sure did. The whole experience was pretty crazy – and it was only the semi-finals! Unfortunately, tickets are already sold out for the final games (La Liga vs. San Carlos), but I enjoyed the experience so much I am definitely now a Ligista and I will be watching the final games rooting for La Liga.

Once again, I’ve gone too long without writing a post – so much has happened that I want to share with you. Because I know that even if I try, my “short summaries” of the experience can get somewhat lengthy, I’m going to break it up into a few posts to post in the next few days… First: Semana Santa

In case you didn’t get it, the title of the post was going to be “Semana Santa in a nutshell” but as soon as I said it, I knew it needed to be changed, because Semana Santa could have also been called beach week. Semana Santa (the week from Palm Sunday to Easter) is a big deal in Costa Rica: there are no classes for the entire week, everyone – literally just about everyone – has Holy Thursday and Good Friday off of work, basically most things shut completely down (including bus services!) for these days. Along with that, it is a time that most Costa Ricans travel – to the beach! – to enjoy the “last hurrah” of summer before the rainy season sets in. So, given that I’m trying to live like a tica, it only made sense for me to spend the week at the beach, right? Well, that’s what I, and a few friends from ACM and a few tico friends did. We made the haul out to northern Guanacaste to spend a few days on some great pacific beaches: we stayed near a beach that is one of the best rated beaches in Costa Rica, called Playa Conchal. The beach gets its name from the fact that instead of sand, the beach is made of seashells (concha=shell). We were able to travel around the area to other beaches close by, including Tamarindo and Playa Grande. I’ll let the pictures do most of the rest of the talking: being that it was the pacific, we were provided with some great sunsets, and overall it was a great time to relax and recuperate before heading back to San José for the last few weeks of the semester which will be packed with working on our final paper and presentations. I’ll just let the pictures tell the rest of the story…